The Malaysian Ringgit is expected to chart a marginal appreciation against the USD in February amid expectations of a stronger 4Q21 GDP data reading and elevated Brent crude oil price, Kenanga Research said in its Asia FX Monthly Outlook.
However, it said that a possible spike in Malaysia’s new COVID-19 cases may put some pressure on the local note.
Reviewing the performance of the ringgit, Kenanga said that the ringgit erased most of its December 2021’s gains against the USD despite improving domestic macroeconomic readings and a higher average Brent crude oil price of USD85.6/barrel in January (Dec 21: USD74.8/barrel).
It said that the local note failed to outpace the strong USD uptrend amid growing expectations on Fed rate hikes.
